Daniel Jeremiah: Bolts Have Their 'Most Talented Roster' in Years

Jul 28, 2023 at 09:00 AM

Omar Navarro

Jr. Writer

NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah joined the latest edition of Chargers Weekly live from training camp at Jack Hammett Sports Complex.

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Highlights of the conversation with Jeremiah are below:

On Justin Herbert signing his extension and training camp so far:

"It's huge. It's rare that you find a team that doesn't have some issue that's lingering and there's nothing here. It's just football. You can see it on [Chargers General Manager] Tom Telesco's face, you could hear it in the voice of [Chargers Head Coach] Brandon Staley how excited they are. It has solely focused on football, they are not happy with the way the year ended last year but this team comes back healthier, they've added some nice pieces in the draft as well as in free agency. Money and I were talking about this earlier, the Chargers have always been talked about as one of the more talented teams in the NFL. It hasn't worked out the last two seasons are great examples, the last game of the year just did not go the way you wanted it to go. That being said, this is the most talented roster they've employed since we've been doing this."

On WR Quentin Johnston and the veteran WRs:

"It's real speed and it's a group that's so big when you think about Keenan [Allen] and Mike [Williams] and how big they are and how physical they are then you see a guy who has that same type of body type. Obviously those guys are so accomplished and I'm not comparing him in that sense, but just when he catches it and that foot hits the ground there's a gear that he has that this team doesn't have. So, to be able to plug him in with that talented group and it sounds like, talking to Derwin [James, Jr.], he mentioned the fact that these guys are all communicating well, they're taking the young guys under their wing. There's no competition there in terms of, 'Oh he's going to take targets away from me'. They're really helping him grow and develop, which is pretty cool to see."

On Chargers T Rashawn Slater:

"He's intentional. There is somebody that is really out to remind everybody of how great he is. This is one of the best players in the NFL, regardless of position. I know he only had that one year where you saw it, he was elite. He walked onto an NFL field as a first year player and was an elite player."

On his excitement to see Chargers OC Kellen Moore's offense:

"We visited with Kellen a little bit before practice and it's almost, when you're talking to him, like when you're talking to Justin. From a personality standpoint, I don't know if you can find a better match… I'm excited to see what it looks like because I think coming from [Former Boise State Head Coach Chris] Peterson at Boise and then his experience with [Former Cowboys Offensive Coordinator Scott] Linehan and then obviously with the Dallas Cowboys running the show there and how productive those offenses were. I think he's shown, and Coach Staley mentioned this, the ability to kind of morph and change around the personnel that he has. I don't think we're going to see exactly the same thing we saw with the Dallas Cowboys. I'm excited to see how this Kellen Moore offense looks like here with the Chargers."

On his biggest takeaway from Staley:

"I would say there is a calm and confidence on a level that I haven't seen yet. Coach has taken this team, they've taken steps. I think he's got, rightfully so, reputation as one of the best defensive minds in the National Football League. We know his aggressive approach that he got a reputation for being ultra-aggressive, which we love calling the games. But to me, [my takeaway] was just this is somebody that has really grown into this role and is comfortable and is confident."